First USCF Tournament

I'm sure that there's a good reason why FIDE decided to make it illegal to write down your move first, but I've never heard it. I always assumed that the main goal of FIDE in all circumstances is for the chess officials to make the game as unpleasant and unpopular as possible

Gijsson discussed this briefly this month, at least why he came to agree. Walking the rows at a tournament, he saw a player's scoresheet that had very many moves lined out and written over. While he didn't believe that player had an illegal intent, it was impossible to distinguish this behavior from taking notes which is specifically prohibited.

I'm sure that there's a good reason why FIDE decided to make it illegal to write down your move first, but I've never heard it. I always assumed that the main goal of FIDE in all circumstances is for the chess officials to make the game as unpleasant and unpopular as possible

Gijsson discussed this briefly this month, at least why he came to agree. Walking the rows at a tournament, he saw a player's scoresheet that had very many moves lined out and written over. While he didn't believe that player had an illegal intent, it was impossible to distinguish this behavior from taking notes which is specifically prohibited.

The USCF allows you to put your current move in on a paper scoresheet before the move, and erase or line it out if you change your mind. It explicitly states that excessive changes are not allowed. This rule has existed for many years. After the advent of eletronic scoresheets both USCF and FIDE determined that putting the move into the electronic scoresheet was not legal because you could then see the position with the new move and change it. (therefore you are using it like an analysis board). However USCF changed there rule after deciding that a paper score sheet did not constitute an analysis board. You do have to watch as some open sections of tournaments in the US are FIDE rated and thus subject to FIDE rules. You can get a copy of the differences between USCF rules and FIDE rules on the USCF website.

FWIW, I had an awkward experience at a FIDE rated tournament in England a few years ago where this "write move after touching piece" rule was applied and in fact enforced against me (it's a hard habit to break!). What I don't quite understand is why this rule exists in the first place, except perhaps if someone is constantly scribbling on their scoresheet in a particularly distracting manner, which to me seems like a behavior that could be classified under the larger rubric of "intentionally disrupting your opponent's concentration".

bobbymac310 ~ Gijsson didn't say the writing was an "analysis board," he said it was effectively "note-taking," which is prohibited.

What possible reason does USCF have for maintaining different tournament rules than FIDE? In this particular case, it can only put players used to the USCF rule at a disadvantage when competing under FIDE conditions.

Besides, of course, the obvious answer that USCF is composed of idiots who do everything possible to screw up chess in the US.

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